Korea and ASEAN to Strengthen Supply Chain Cooperation... FTA Digital Rules to Be Revised

Yeo Han-Koo Discusses Economic and Trade Cooperation with the ASEAN Committee in Seoul
"We Aim to Achieve Upgrades to the Korea-ASEAN FTA by 2027"

Yonhap News

Korea and ASEAN have begun cooperating to expand trade, upgrade the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and strengthen supply chain collaboration. Amid rising global supply chain risks due to external factors such as recent instability in the Middle East, both sides have agreed to further bolster economic and trade cooperation.

On May 18, Yeo Han-Koo, Trade Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, held a meeting with the ASEAN Committee in Seoul (ACS) at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry to discuss ways to expand Korea-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation.

The ASEAN Committee in Seoul is composed of the ambassadors to Korea from all 11 ASEAN member states: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.

This meeting was organized to discuss ways to expand cooperation with ASEAN, Korea’s second-largest trading partner. As of last year, Korea’s trade volume with ASEAN reached USD 204.7 billion, accounting for 15.3% of its total trade. This is the second-largest after China (USD 272.8 billion) and exceeds the trade volume with the United States (USD 196.3 billion).

Both sides agreed on the necessity of expanding trade. Recognizing ASEAN as a core economic and trade partner for Korea as well as a rapidly growing market, they shared the view that trade should be broadened beyond the current focus on manufacturing to encompass a wider range of sectors.

Negotiations to improve the Korea-ASEAN FTA were also a key agenda item. While the Korea-ASEAN FTA, which came into effect in 2007, has served as a foundation for expanding trade and investment between the two sides, there is a consensus that it has not sufficiently reflected recent changes in the trade environment, such as digital trade and supply chains.

Minister Yeo stated, "It is necessary to reflect the changing global trade environment in the Korea-ASEAN FTA," adding, "We will upgrade the agreement to a more multifaceted structure, including digital regulations that were not incorporated in the existing agreement."

He continued, "We will strive to achieve tangible results by 2027, which marks the 60th anniversary of ASEAN’s founding, the 20th anniversary of the Korea-ASEAN FTA, and the 30th anniversary of the Korea-ASEAN Summit."

Both sides also exchanged views on measures to respond to global supply chain risks stemming from recent instability in the Middle East. As Korea and ASEAN are closely connected as both mutual suppliers and consumers—beyond simply being trading partners—they agreed to continuously strengthen supply chain cooperation in times of crisis.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.